"This evening I sent a letter to the president of the UN Security Council in which I called for immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel", Saar said in a post on X that featured a copy of the letter.

Warning that Israel has the right to defend itself under the UN charter, Saar said that Iraq "is responsible under international law to prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations."

"Israel calls on the Iraqi government to fulfill this obligation and to take immediate action to halt and prevent these attacks," Saar added.

Saar said Israel would take "all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens" from Iran-backed militias.

Shia paramilitary groups created in the chaos following the 2003 US invasion have forged an alliance called "Islamic Resistance of Iraq," part of what Iran calls the "Axis of Resistance" to Israel.

This alliance regularly claims to have launched drone strikes on Israel, many of which are intercepted by Israeli air defences.

In early October one drone strike from Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded 24 others at a military base in the Golan Heights, a part of Syria occupied by Israel.